Sunday, August 31, 2008

This weekend, I didn't play tourist for the first time since I've been here. Instead, I had a mellow couple days, including a boat trip with some family friends today. So while I don't have anything too exciting to share, I do have a few small tidbits of observations.

I was having a conversation about how the waters surrounding Hong Kong have been severely over fished in recent years, and the local fishermen are therefore not able to earn a living anymore. While this sad fact appears quite true, this weekend I came across a new type of fisherman - two guys on a boat with nets, fishing garbage out of the harbor - which they then presumably are able to sell to a recycling plant or something similar. I find it remarkable how, with the right incentives, cleanup efforts can become a business.

As mentioned I visited some family friends for lunch today. I had to take a taxi to the south side of the island, and as my tweet mentions, I didn't have much faith in the cabbie. While it took awhile to find the place, I have to say the patience that the driver had was remarkable and he even had his dispatcher relay when the language barrier became too much to deal with.

Tonight I also went to the Michigan Alumni meet-up to watch the football game. The showing was fairly good, with about a dozen people in attendance. While time delayed, I did manage not to peak, and was surprised by moments of promise that the team showed. Sadly, the slingbox that the bar was using, cut off the last 5 mins of the game, but I'm told I didn't miss much. Next week, we are hoping to be able to watch the game live - let me know if you're in Hong Kong and want to watch...

This weekend, I didn't play tourist for the first time since I've been here. Instead, I had a mellow couple days, including a boat trip with some family friends today. So while I don't have anything too exciting to share, I do have a few small tidbits of observations.

I was having a conversation about how the waters surrounding Hong Kong have been severely over fished in recent years, and the local fishermen are therefore not able to earn a living anymore. While this sad fact appears quite true, this weekend I came across a new type of fisherman - two guys on a boat with nets, fishing garbage out of the harbor - which they then presumably are able to sell to a recycling plant or something similar. I find it remarkable how, with the right incentives, cleanup efforts can become a business.

As mentioned I visited some family friends for lunch today. I had to take a taxi to the south side of the island, and as my tweet mentions, I didn't have much faith in the cabbie. While it took awhile to find the place, I have to say the patience that the driver had was remarkable and he even had his dispatcher relay when the language barrier became too much to deal with.

Tonight I also went to the Michigan Alumni meet-up to watch the football game. The showing was fairly good, with about a dozen people in attendance. While time delayed, I did manage not to peak, and was surprised by moments of promise that the team showed. Sadly, the slingbox that the bar was using, cut off the last 5 mins of the game, but I'm told I didn't miss much. Next week, we are hoping to be able to watch the game live - let me know if you're in Hong Kong and want to watch...